Precolored compounds combine safety with "cool"
A
RTP Company product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jul 1, 2002
When Dan T Moore lost his daughter Wendy in a downhill skiing accident, he decided to combine his personal inspiration and professional expertise to prevent further deaths.
When Dan T Moore lost his daughter Wendy in a downhill skiing accident, he decided to combine his personal inspiration and professional expertise to prevent further deaths.
Moore, a "technology capitalist", heads a group of companies that has built a reputation as an entrepreneurial incubator, specialising in the cultivation of technology-based ventures.
His goal became "Build a better helmet formation of a new company called Team Wendy, of Cleveland, OH, to manufacture safety equipment for action sports enthusiasts.
While other helmet designs existed, Moore found them lacking in strength, durability and, perhaps, most importantly, in acceptance.
Chip Leon, President of Team Wendy, worked with custom compounder RTP Company, of Winona, MN, to find a material that would make the helmet both functionally protective and stylishly popular.
Leon chose an RTP 300 Series high flow polycarbonate compound using RTP Company's chroma-shift colour technology.
The combination of strength (tensile strength of 65MPa), stiffness, (flexural modulus of 2343MPa) and impact resistance (notched Izod impact strength to 801J/m) provides an ideal shell material.
But what makes RTP Company the supplier of choice is its offerings in colour technology.
According to Leon, "Unique colours such as gold and blue sparkle, jade, silver flake and emerald provide the appeal needed to gain acceptance".
Unlike competitive models, which are typically painted, the rich colours of the Team Wendy helmets are moulded into the shell eliminating unsightly chipping and minimising abrasion marks after regular use.
Further, chroma-shift colouring provides a dynamic metamerism - hues that change dramatically as light is reflected at different angles.
This technology utilises a precise combination of pigments and dyes that flow throughout the shot in a controllable pattern, producing brilliant, shimmering colour patterns.
Perhaps as crucial as applied technology to Team Wendy's goal of saving lives is RTP Company's role in popularising safety gear.
Leon cites a growing partnership with RTP Company in the area of market research as having the greatest potential to reach that goal.
As a member of the Colour Marketing Group, RTP Company contributes to research which predicts consumer preferences and future trends in colour.
Says Leon, "RTP Company's wealth of experience with colour provides us with an invaluable resource for the success of our marketing efforts, and our goal of making headgear become standard gear".
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